Inclusion is a federal education policy in the United States that challenges
educational leaders. Despite U.S. federal laws requiring an inclusive education for
students with disabilities (SWD), educators continue to struggle to implement inclusion.
Some scholars argue that leadership is the key to inclusion, with most studies focused on
principal leadership. Successful inclusive districts are rare, as are studies of these
districts. The purpose of this in-depth case study was to describe and understand the
leadership practices of SSSD (pseudonym), an inclusive (based on LRE ≥75% for three
consecutive years) and effective district (based on district grades of As and Bs, state
measures of student achievement) in Southeast Florida. Within SSSD, a purposeful
sample of 31 participants was selected that included eight district leaders, three
principals, 15 teachers, and five parents located at four sites and observed across three
events over the span of one semester with multiple supporting documents analyzed. Four findings describing district leadership practices emerged from the data
analysis; 1) a shared inclusive mission, 2) collaborative efforts, 3) formal and informal
professional development (PD), and 4) acknowledging and addressing challenges. The
practices of district leaders found in this study resonate with other findings in the
literature and contribute two of the new findings in this study: 1) the superintendent’s
attitudes, beliefs, and experiences as a special educator were described as key to her
district’s inclusive focus and success and extends previous research connecting principal
leadership to school site inclusion; and 2) informal versus formal PD was more beneficial
to teachers in building collective capacity for inclusive service delivery—marking a new
distinction within related PD literature.
Recommendations to district leaders, policy makers, and scholars are included.
The study concludes by encouraging educational leaders to cultivate a shared inclusive
mission implemented through collaborative efforts. There is hope for inclusion, not only
in theory, but in practice, mirroring the call of other district leadership studies of
successful, systemic inclusion. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_34558 |
| Contributors | Jekanowski, Elizabeth C. (author), Maslin-Ostrowski, Patricia (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 195 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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